Joel Tudor

Notorious for challenging the norm, Tudor is a global surfing icon who has seen and done it all.

At the relatively young age of 36, Tudor is a two-time ASP World Longboard Champion; has won eight US Open Longboard titles; a number of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu championships and authored one of the most successful photo books in surf culture, Surf Book. An understudy of ’60s and ’70s surfing legends like Phil Edwards, Nat Young, David Nuuhiwa, Miki Dora, Wayne Lynch and Gerry Lopez, Tudor melded their time-honored approaches to forge his own path and boldly encourage a new generation of non-conformists to flip the bird at the “usual” way of looking at modern day surfing. Recently, Tudor revitalized the longboard community with the introduction of his unconventional Duct Tape Invitational events -- a back-to-basics-style fest that rewards first-rate footwork and noseriding on heavy, leashless, single-fin logs. He’s a walking encyclopedia when it comes to music, art and surf culture and Vans is proud to call Joel family.